Rüdiger Campe (born 1953 in

Hagen Hagen () is the Largest cities in Germany, 41st-largest List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany. The municipality is located in the States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located on the south eastern edge of the R ...

) is a German

literary scholar Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. T ...

of modern

German literature German literature () comprises those literature, literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German parts of Switzerland and Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, South Tyrol in Italy a ...

whose research focuses on

rhetoric Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...

aesthetics Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed thr ...

history of science The history of science covers the development of science from ancient times to the present. It encompasses all three major branches of science: natural, social, and formal. Science's earliest roots can be traced to Ancient Egypt and Meso ...

, and

literary history The history of literature is the historical development of writings in prose or poetry that attempt to provide entertainment, enlightenment, or instruction to the reader/listener/observer, as well as the development of the literary techniques ...

and

theory A theory is a rational type of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the results of such thinking. The process of contemplative and rational thinking is often associated with such processes as observational study or research. Theories may be s ...

. He is currently the Alfred C. and Martha F. Mohr Professor of German and Professor of Comparative Literature at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

. He is a recipient of the

Humboldt Research Award The Humboldt Prize, the Humboldt-Forschungspreis in German, also known as the Humboldt Research Award, is an award given by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany to internationally renowned scientists and scholars who work outside of G ...

and the Aby Warburg Prize.

Life and career

From 1974 to 1984, Campe studied German language and literature,

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

, and

classical philology Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

at the

Ruhr University Bochum The Ruhr University Bochum (, ) is a public research university located in the southern hills of the central Ruhr area, Bochum, Germany. It was founded in 1962 as the first new public university in Germany after World War II. Instruction began in ...

, the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisg ...

and in Paris under Gerhard Kaiser and

Friedrich Kittler Friedrich A. Kittler (June 12, 1943 – October 18, 2011) was a literary scholar and a media theorist. His works relate to media, technology, and the military. Biography Friedrich Adolf Kittler was born in 1943 in Rochlitz in Saxony. His fami ...

. Campe's dissertation was titled „Affekt und Ausdruck. Zur Umwandlung der literarischen Rede im 17. Jahrhundert“. He received his Ph.D. from

Freiburg University The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemb ...

in 1987 with a ''

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

''. Cample completed his habilitation in 2000 at the

University of Essen The University of Duisburg-Essen (german: link=no, Universität Duisburg-Essen) is a public research university in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. In the 2019 ''Times Higher Education World University Rankings'', the university was awarded ...

. Campe was an assistant professor at the

from 1986 to 1996. He joined the German department of

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

in 2001 and served as the department's chair for several years. Since 2007, Campe has been a German and Comparative Literature professor at

. At Yale, he has served as the department chair and has been Alfred C. and Martha F. Mohr Professor of German Languages and Literatures since 2016. Campe has been a visiting professor at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

, the universities of

Konstanz Konstanz (, , locally: ; also written as Constance in English) is a university city with approximately 83,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south of Germany. The city houses the University of Konstanz and was th ...

Siegen Siegen () is a city in Germany, in the south Westphalian part of North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly sho ...

and

Viadrina European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) (german: Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder)) is a university located at Frankfurt (Oder) in Brandenburg, Germany. It is also known as the University of Frankfurt (Oder). The city is on th ...

(Frankfurt/Oder). He has served on several advisory boards, including Leibniz-Zentrum für Literatur- und Kulturforschung (ZfL) at

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, the Erich-Auerbach-Institute at

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

and the Hans Blumenberg Society. Campe has held advisory board positions in journals, including the ''Monatshefte'', the ''Bucknell Goethe series'', ''Athenäum'', and ''Studia Theodisca''.

Research

Campe's research explores the interconnections of

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

, and

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

. In the ''Game of Probability: Literature and Calculation from Pascal and Kleist'' (2002, trans. 2012), he explores the humanities and mathematical sciences, particularly the science of

probability Probability is the branch of mathematics concerning numerical descriptions of how likely an Event (probability theory), event is to occur, or how likely it is that a proposition is true. The probability of an event is a number between 0 and ...

and games, as part of an interrelated discourse and a continuing rhetorical tradition. According to Campe, literary-rhetorical traditions allowed a better understanding of probabilities, while probability theory revitalized literary traditions. Other research interests include the history of

and

poetics Poetics is the theory of structure, form, and discourse within literature, and, in particular, within poetry. History The term ''poetics'' derives from the Ancient Greek ποιητικός ''poietikos'' "pertaining to poetry"; also "creative" an ...

, theories of

speech act In the philosophy of language and linguistics, speech act is something expressed by an individual that not only presents information but performs an action as well. For example, the phrase "I would like the kimchi; could you please pass it to me?" ...

, affect, and

physiognomy Physiognomy (from the Greek , , meaning "nature", and , meaning "judge" or "interpreter") is the practice of assessing a person's character or personality from their outer appearance—especially the face. The term can also refer to the general ...

. Campe developed the concept of "scene of writing" (''Schreibszene''), which has been influential in German literary and

media theory Media studies is a discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history, and effects of various media; in particular, the mass media. Media Studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but mostly ...

. In literary history, Campe has dealt with reception studies, the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

theater, theories of the

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

, and the intersection of literature and

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

. He has written on

Moritz Moritz is the German equivalent of the name Maurice. It may refer to: People Given name * Saint Maurice, also called Saint Moritz, the leader of the legendary Roman Theban Legion in the 3rd century * Prince Moritz of Hesse (2007), the son of ...

Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditio ...

, Gryphius, Baumgarten,

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...

Lichtenberg Lichtenberg () is the eleventh borough of Berlin, Germany. In Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it absorbed the former borough of Hohenschönhausen. Overview The district contains the Tierpark Berlin in Friedrichsfelde, the larger of Berlin's ...

, Hölderlin,

Kleist Kleist, or von Kleist, is a surname. von Kleist: *August von Kleist (1818–1890), Prussian Major General *Conrad von Kleist (1839-1900), German politician (German Conservative Party), member of Reichstag *Ewald Georg von Kleist (ca. 1700–1748), ...

Büchner Büchner (or Buechner) is a German language surname related to the word ''Buche'' (german: beech) and may refer to: * Eberhard Büchner (born 1939), German tenor * Ernst Büchner (1850–1925), German chemist after whom the Büchner flask and Büc ...

Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It typ ...

, Lukács,

Walser The Walser people are the speakers of the Walser German dialects, a variety of Highest Alemannic. They inhabit the region of the Alps of Switzerland and Liechtenstein, as well as the fringes of Italy and Austria. The Walser people are named af ...

and

Musil Musil (feminine Musilová) is a Czech surname, which means "he had to", from the past tense of the Czech word ''musit'' (must).''Dictionary of American Family Names''"Musil Family History" Oxford University Press, 2013. Retrieved on 9 January 2016. ...

Awards

*Fellow, Center for Advanced Studies,

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, Imaginaria of Force, 2022 *Fellow, Internationales Forschungszentrum Kulturwissenschaften, Vienna, 2016 *Fellow of the International Research Center for Cultural Studies,

University of Art and Design Linz The University of Art and Design Linz (common short form University of Arts Linz) is one of four universities in Linz, Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its ca ...

, 2016 *

of the

Alexander von Humboldt Foundation The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (german: Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung) is a foundation established by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany and funded by the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Ministry of Education and Resear ...

, 2011 *Fellow of the

Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin The Institute for Advanced Study in Berlin (german: Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin) is an interdisciplinary institute founded in 1981 in Grunewald, Berlin, Germany, dedicated to research projects in the natural and social sciences. It is modeled ...

, 2008 * Aby Warburg Prize (Hamburg), 2002

Selected works

Authored Works

*''Affekt und Ausdruck. Zur Umwandlung der literarischen Rede im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert'' (Tübingen: Niemeyer, 1990). *''The Game of Probability. Literature and Calculation from Pascal and Kleist, trans.'' Ellwood Wiggins, Jr. (Stanford University Press, 2012). Revised trans. of “Spiel der Wahrscheinlichkeit.” *''Baumgarten-Studien. Zur Genealogie der Ästhetik'', co-authored with A. Haverkamp, C. Menke (Berlin: August, 2014). *''Die Institution im Roman. Robert Musil'' (Würzburg: Königshausen & Neumann 2020).

Edited Volumes

*''Geschichten der Physiognomik. Text-Bild-Wissen'', ed. Rüdiger Campe, Manfred Schneider (Freiburg: Rombach, 1996). *''Modern Language Notes, Special issue: Literature and Science'', 118 (2003), ed. Rüdiger Campe. *''Gesetz. Ironie, ed. Rüdiger Campe, Michael Niehaus'' (Heidelberg: Synchron, 2004). *''Modern Language Notes, Special issue, dedicated to the memory of Bianca Theisen'', 121 (2006), ed. Rüdiger Campe. *''Penthesileas Versprechen. Exemplarische Studien zur literarischen Referenz'', ed. R. Campe (Freiburg: Rombach, 2008). *Telos, Special Issue, Hans Blumenberg, ed. R. Campe, P. Fleming, K. Wetters, 158 (2012). *Germanic Review, special issue „The Case of Citation,“ 2014, co-ed. with Arne Höcker. *''Rethinking Emotion. Interiority and Exteriority in Premodern, Modern, and Contemporary Thought'', co-ed. with Julia Weber (Berlin, Boston: De Grutyer, 2014). *''Bella Parrhesia. Begriff und Figur der freien Rede in der frühen Neuzeit'', co-ed. with Malte Wessels (Freiburg: Rombach, 2018). *''Screen Genealogies. From Optical Device to Environmental Medium'', ed. Craig Buckley, Rüdiger Campe, Francesco Casetti (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2019). *''For a New Aufklärung/Enlightenment'', special issue in: Germanic Review 95 (2020), co- ed. with Hans Adler.

References

External links

Rüdiger Campe
at the Yale Department of Germanic Languages and Literure {{DEFAULTSORT:Campe, Rudiger 1953 births Living people People from Hagen German literature academics Germanists Ruhr University Bochum alumni University of Freiburg alumni Literary scholars Johns Hopkins University faculty Yale University faculty Yale University Department of German Faculty Professors of German in the United States Humboldt Research Award recipients